SARAJEVO, Feb 5 (Hina) - Since the end of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, nearly one million refugees and displaced persons have returned to their pre-war houses, and it is believed that an additional 500,000 Bosnians are interested in
returning.
SARAJEVO, Feb 5 (Hina) - Since the end of the war in Bosnia-
Herzegovina, nearly one million refugees and displaced persons
have returned to their pre-war houses, and it is believed that an
additional 500,000 Bosnians are interested in returning. #L#
According to the UNHCR, during the war in the first half of the
1990s, about 2.2 million Bosnians left their homes, and a half of
them found shelter abroad, while others waited for peace, being
dislocated within Bosnian borders, the head of the UNHCR mission in
Bosnia, Udo Janz, said in Sarajevo.
In the past seven years, a great number of people managed to
repossess their property and come back, and 2002 was particularly
encouraging with the biggest number of so-called minority returns
registered since the conclusion of the Dayton peace accords, he
told reporters on Wednesday.
Of 102,000 minority returns to both Bosnian entities, 39,000 were
Serbs who came back to the Croat-Muslim federation last year. In
addition, 38,000 Bosniaks (Muslims) returned to their pre-war
homes in the Serb entity. According to UNHCR figures, about 11,000
Croats came back to both entities last year.
According to the same source, of 930,000 returns so far registered,
390,000 accounted for minority ones.
Janz said some 125,000 Bosnians who were now in Serbia/Montenegro
and in Croatia, expressed willingness to return to their homes.
Almost two thirds of about 1.2 million of Bosnian refugees, who
found shelter outside the region, solved their status in the
meantime, for instance by being granted second citizenship and they
are believed to have no intention to leave the countries where they
are now.
The biggest obstacle for those who would like to live again in
Bosnia is the reconstruction of their houses or flats. Most housing
units offer no conditions for living.
At the moment, some 50,000 houses and flats should be rebuilt, the
UNHCR official said.
Bosnian minister of human rights and refugees, Mirsad Kebo, has
recently said that about 450 million euros should be ensured for
this purpose.
(hina) ms sb